And what could be more relaxing than coming back from vacation with extra money to spend… on the next trip?

3. Your Kid’s College Tuition

As a parent, you probably want to give your kid the best chance to succeed (if not, maybe you should have gotten a cat instead).

The gift of college tuition may be tempting, particularly given the current $1.5 trillion in student loan debt hanging over Americans’ heads. But taking on student loan debt as a parent is definitely not in your best interest.

If you take out a Parent Plus Loan, you’re legally responsible for repayment and cannot transfer the loan to your child.

If you haven’t heard it already, here’s the advice from financial experts: Your kids can take out loans to go to college; you can’t take out loans to retire.

And in the long run, your kids will more than likely get a better deal on student loans than you will as a parent. That’s because compared to federal loans taken out by students, Direct Plus Loans for parents have higher interest rates and are much more restrictive when it comes to repayment and forgiveness options.

We have plenty of strategies for your kids to pay off student loans. If you really want to help, you can chip in on the payments until they can cover the costs themselves.

4. The Holidays

Here’s a little secret about Christmas you may or may not know: It comes every year. Shocker, right?

OK, all kidding aside, the holidays can trigger those special treasured memories of family traditions and a tree surrounded by presents.

However, all the parties and presents can really take a toll on your bank account, and spending yourself into debt isn’t what makes the holidays special — or at least it shouldn’t be.

But we get it. You still want to give the kiddos in your life that unforgettable moment of unwrapping the perfect present. So why not start a new tradition: the four-gift rule. You can still enjoy the joy of seeing your kids’ face light up, but you won’t bust Santa’s budget with lots of items they’ll forget a half hour later.

5. A New Car

Even though the financial experts might advise it, it may be a bit unrealistic to suggest none of us should go into debt when buying a car.

Unless you have an extra $30,000 or so, (the average price for a mid-size car was $27,968 in October 2019, according to Kelley Blue Book) you probably can’t pay cash for your next vehicle.

But going into debt to buy a brand new car? Not so fast there, motorhead.

It’s not just that new cars are more expensive — they also in general lose 23.5% of their retail value after a year and about 60% in the first five years, according to Edmunds.

So if you pay $40,000 for a brand new car, it will be worth about $30,600 after the first year — and $16,000 after five years. Ouch.

And if you think the solution is simply to take out a longer car loan, you’re not alone. For new passenger vehicles, the number of new loans between 85 and 96 months increased 38% in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018, according to Experian.

By extending loans to seven or eight years, dealers can get you in a car for a lower monthly payment — but you’ll be paying a bundle more in interest.

How much more? Compare:

If you pay $30,000 for a car and take out a 60-month loan at 5%, you’ll pay $3,968 in interest on that amount. But if you take out a 96-month loan at the same rate, you’ll pay $6,461 in interest — almost $2,500 more.